According to Ukrainska Pravda, Stolar is currently outside Ukraine. The MP confirmed reports of searches at his home, saying that he is cooperating with NABU officials and is not creating “any obstacles to the work of law enforcement officers.”
MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak of the Holos party said that Sense Bank features in the case as a channel through which part of the money for former minister Herman Halushchenko’s bail was transferred. Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda reported that people involved in the Midas case had influenced the appointment of members of Sense Bank’s supervisory board. The bank, nationalised from the former Russian-owned Alfa-Bank, was therefore effectively brought under their control.
According to investigators, Halushchenko spent some of the illegally obtained money on his son’s education in Switzerland. NABU’s short video about the Forest Gump operation includes an excerpt from a conversation in which the participants discussed paying for their children’s education with stolen money. In the video released by NABU, an unidentified man can be heard saying: “We have Saving Private Ryan. Only an idiot would put stolen money in his children’s names and use it to pay for their education. That’s why Forest Gump.” This may explain why the NABU and SAPO operation was given such a striking name.
How they did it
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau released details of the scheme used by its organisers to launder UAH 150 million in cash to pay Halushchenko’s bail.
“For the scheme, the group used a state-owned bank and the accounts of companies under its control. At the beginning of the scheme, the organisers gained de facto control over JSC Sense Bank. This allowed them to use it for their own interests,” NABU detective Mykhailo Romaniuk said.
Investigators described how the scheme’s organisers discussed posting the bail. A former MP named Maksym (Mykytas – Ed.) took part in the conversation. He told an aide that UAH 200 million had been brought in for Herman Halushchenko, but that no one could be told about it, not even Vadik (Stolar – Ed.). The deputy head of the Office of the President was shocked that a car full of money had been brought in. She asked how the money could be transferred without attracting the attention of financial monitoring authorities.
To implement the scheme, the participants involved companies and individuals under their control. They also enlisted the bank’s senior management. The former MP told the deputy head of the Office of the President about an arrangement with the head of Sense Bank’s board. The first tranche of UAH 50 million was delivered to the former MP’s office. Of this amount, UAH 15 million was handed to a trusted associate, while UAH 35 million was transferred to a “laundromat” – a cash-conversion centre.
That same day, a second tranche of UAH 10 million was delivered. The chairman of the bank’s supervisory board reported to the deputy head of the Office of the President that the money had been credited to the accounts of companies involved in the scheme.
A third tranche of UAH 70 million was delivered to the former MP’s office and divided into three parts: UAH 20 million was given to a trusted associate, while the rest was transferred to the cash-conversion centre. The fourth tranche, worth UAH 20 million, was processed using the old scheme.
Who posted bail for Halushchenko
As a reminder, former Energy and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko is one of the suspects in a case concerning an alleged corruption scheme at Energoatom, under which all contractors were reportedly forced to pay kickbacks. The case involves Energoatom officials and former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, while businessman Timur Mindich is the main suspect.
Halushchenko was charged with money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation. According to anti-corruption authorities, the criminal organisation received more than $112 million through a person acting on behalf of the former minister.
Halushchenko was held in a pre-trial detention centre but was released on bail after a court reduced the amount from UAH 200 million to UAH 150 million. Journalists from Skhemy found that UAH 105 million was posted by three companies with questionable profitability.
The largest contribution – UAH 54 million – was made by Tetras Optima, a company officially engaged in the wholesale trade of timber. The company is owned by Tetiana Linnikova from Kharkiv Region. According to its official 2023 financial statements, the company’s net profit amounted to a symbolic UAH 35,600, while in 2026 the state took it to court over a UAH 4,000 tax debt.
Another UAH 46 million was transferred by the newly established Brovary-based company Hiran Constract, which trades in plumbing and heating equipment. According to data from YouControl, the company has a registered capital of just UAH 5,000, reported no profits in previous years and has only one employee.
Another UAH 5 million was contributed by the Kharkiv-based company Skait Retail, which also specialises in timber. In its 2023 financial statements, former owner Dmytro Ostrovskyi declared no income at all and capital of UAH 200,000. The company subsequently stopped filing reports, changed its registered address to Kyiv Region, and Tetiana Stepnykh became its new beneficial owner.
On 29 June 2026, a suspect in the Midas case was released on UAH 150 million bail. On 19 August, detectives and prosecutors announced that members of the organisation who arranged for the bail to be paid with illegally obtained money had been charged.
Charges, summonses and removal of powers
Former deputy head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra was served with a notice of suspicion and given a motion seeking a preventive measure, her lawyer Artem Krykun-Trush of Miller law firm told Suspilne. According to him, the defence is reviewing the case materials and therefore is not commenting on the merits of the suspicion.
As reported by Suspilne, Mudra, like her alleged accomplice Vadym Stolar, said that she was cooperating with the investigation and would comment on the suspicion and the released recordings after reviewing the case materials. The former deputy head of the Office of the President added that she had submitted her resignation in order to “defend her good name” herself. Mudra had served as deputy head of the Office of the President since March 2024, having previously spent two years as deputy justice minister under Denys Maliuska.
Interestingly, NABU’s released video includes a moment when the deputy head of the Office of the President says that corruption should not be fought, but rather systematised and controlled. In other words, she was paraphrasing the well-known idea: “If you can’t stop the process, take charge of it.”
Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said that the government had suspended Mykola Hladyshenko, chairman of the supervisory board of state-owned Sense Bank. The Cabinet of Ministers also initiated the suspension of the bank’s chairman of the board, Oleksii Stupak. Koretskyi stressed that other bank officials featured in the pre-trial investigation materials should also be held accountable.
National Bank Governor Andrii Pyshnyi, for his part, explained that Mykola Hladyshenko had not been suspended from his position as chairman of Sense Bank’s supervisory board but had been stripped of his powers for violating independence requirements.
Pyshnyi recalled that the National Bank had launched an inspection of Sense Bank’s supervisory board back in May 2026, following the publication of the “Mindich tapes”. However, at the time, there was insufficient evidence against Hladyshenko for the relevant commission to decide to remove him from office.
Following the release of the Forest Gump operation materials, the situation changed. The National Bank launched administrative proceedings concerning the collective unsuitability of Sense Bank’s supervisory board. The regulator has pledged to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and take a firm response to any violations uncovered.
Meanwhile, amid the new corruption scandal, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine summoned National Bank Governor Andrii Pyshnyi to a plenary session. The motion, put forward by MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, was supported by 155 MPs.
Mindich, Yermak and others
As a reminder, on 10 November 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine announced a major Midas operation to uncover corruption in the energy sector. More than 70 searches were conducted as part of the operation.
According to investigators, the organisers of the scheme received kickbacks of up to 15% of the value of contracts from Energoatom. The payments were allegedly made by the company’s contractors, who, according to the investigation, were pressured by members of the scheme to work with them.
NABU said the money was laundered through so-called back offices in central Kyiv. According to investigators, a total of $100 million was laundered as part of the scheme.
NABU also released recordings of conversations between the suspects using code names. Their identities were subsequently revealed. Among the main figures were businessman and Kvartal 95 co-owner Timur Mindich, who was referred to by the code name “Carlson”, and Oleksandr Zukerman, known as “Sugarman”. Both left Ukraine shortly before the searches were conducted. They were later sanctioned and placed on a wanted list.
The Mindich tapes — intercepted conversations between suspects in the Energoatom corruption case — contained information about the Dynasty cottage settlement in Kozyn, which Bihus.info journalists first reported on in July 2025. On 11 May 2026, NABU notified former head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak of suspicion in the case.
Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — legalisation (laundering) of property obtained through criminal means when committed by an organised group or involving an especially large amount — carries a prison sentence of eight to 12 years, a ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years, and confiscation of property.
Read alsoЗастава, що «не влізе у джип»: суд заарештував Єрмака
Andrii Yermak even spent a week in a paid cell at a pre-trial detention centre before being released on the morning of 18 May on UAH 140 million bail. On 10 August, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court changed the preventive measure imposed on former head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak, as well as the restrictions on his travel to a number of regions. Yermak is involved in organising legal assistance for military personnel and was recently seen at a meeting with service members of the 2nd Corps of the National Guard’s Khartia brigade.
Maksym Mykytas, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 8th convocation and former president of Ukrbud Corporation, has already come under the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies twice.
On 2 October 2019, NABU notified Mykytas of suspicion of misappropriating UAH 81.64 million in budget funds in a scheme involving the exchange of apartments for National Guard personnel. On 20 January 2020, Mykytas was removed from a flight while attempting to leave Ukraine. On 28 May 2020, a court remanded Maksym Mykytas in pre-trial detention. In December 2020, Mykytas voluntarily reimbursed UAH 50 million of the total UAH 81.64 million in damages to the state budget and was released from pre-trial detention.
On 28 December 2020, police served Maksym Mykytas with a new notice of suspicion in a case unrelated to corruption. On 31 December, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv ordered Maksym Mykytas to be held in custody for two months without the possibility of bail over suspicion of ordering the abduction of a Kyiv-based lawyer. On 13 March 2021, Maksym Mykytas was released from pre-trial detention for the second time.
They say third time’s the charm.